Mayflower Theatre: a bigger stage for autumn

Southampton's biggest stage has spent the last year and a half growing rather than closing. The Mayflower Theatre, on Commercial Road in the centre, is the largest theatre in the south of England outside London, with room for 2,300 people, and it has spent the better part of 2025 and 2026 adding to its footprint.

The building itself has a long history. It opened on 22 December 1928 as The Empire Theatre, part of the Moss Empire group, with the musical play Winona as its first show. It went through a stint as the Gaumont before becoming The Mayflower on 24 February 1987, when a production of Peter Pan starring Bonnie Langford took the stage and the opening gala was televised later that May. It is Grade II listed, which is something to keep in mind when you see how much has changed inside.

Much of that change happened back in 2018, when the theatre shut for three months after War Horse to replace all the stalls and gallery seats with 1,659 wider ones, reupholster the gallery, repaint the auditorium in royal red and gold, install eco-friendly LED lighting, improve access, move the orchestra pit, put in a lift and renovate the restaurant, bars and function rooms. It reopened with a gala on 26 September that year. The latest work, announced in June 2025, has been building at the back of the theatre while the main house stayed open, and it was due to finish in late summer 2026. The extension adds a double-height rehearsal studio, two fully accessible dressing rooms, a new stage door and combined reception, and a new stage-level access for artists with disabilities. The main house paused programming from May to August 2026 while the work landed, with the annual youth production staged at Studio 1 of Mayflower Studios instead.

With the building back at full strength, the autumn and winter programme fills in the gaps. Moulin Rouge! The Musical runs from 24 September to 24 October, and Jersey Boys takes over from 23 to 28 November. Between them, there is a lot of one-off and short-run work: Harry Enfield and No Chums on 9 November, The Unfriend from 11 to 14 November, Operation Mincemeat from 17 to 21 November, and Christmas Lights from 25 to 28 November. There is also a Welsh National Opera family concert on 11 November, La bohème on 13 November, and Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra on 15 November. Over at Mayflower Studios, the smaller room keeps busy with things like Kathakali on 10 November.

For anyone who missed the big tour that kicked things off, Mamma Mia! opened its new UK run at the Mayflower back in October 2025 before heading off to Bristol, Oxford, Edinburgh and beyond. The show, produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East and Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal and NGM, is now in its 26th year and has played more than 10,000 performances in London's West End, where it has been seen by more than 11 million people. It is a good reminder of the kind of scale the Mayflower is built for.

Whether you are going for a big musical, a one-night show or a family concert, the theatre is back to its full capacity and its full range of spaces. It is worth a look at the full autumn and winter listing before you plan your next night out.